Hydra Experimental Fighter Carrier

The Hydra is an experiment between the Kuat Drive Yards and Sienar
Fleet Systems engineers who also designed the earlier Siren and
Banshee ships.  The Hydra utilises droid starfighters under the
control of a central tactical computer housed within the fighter's
mothership.  The tactic was used unsuccessfully by the Trade
Federation before the fall of the Old Republic, but Korben of
Kadnarr (a high ranking engineer at KDY) ‘acquired' one of the
Trade Federation's LD-3210 Battleships after their dissolution.  
It was Korben's son: Kusama of Kadnarr who proposed the technology
be used in conjunction with Sienar's experimental TIE droid fighters.  
A KDY/SFS Enforcer hull was chosen again (as with the Siren cruiser).  
During the last months of the Hydra's construction, Kuat of Kuat
devised a shield-projection system which was immediately incorporated
into the Hydra and its fighters (Lando Calrissian would later use a
similar system for his ‘Belt-Runner' scheme [NJO]).  This enables
the Hydra to not only enhance the combat abilities of its fighters
but also to project (out to a limited range) its shields on them
(though this reduces the Hydra's own protection).  An undisclosed
number of Hydra's were constructed.

Craft: Kuat Drive Yards / Sienar Hydra-class Fighter-carrier/controller
Type: Droid starfighter Command and Control / Co-ordination Cruiser
Scale: Capital Ship
Length: 600 meters
Skill: Capital Ship Piloting
Crew: 3,500, Gunners: 60, Skeleton: 1000/+10
Troops: 150 troops
Cargo Capacity: 6,000 metric tons
Consumables: 1.5 years
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x2
Hyperdrive Back-up: x10
Nav Computer: Yes
Manoeuvrability: 1D+2
Space: 6
Hull: 5D
Shields: 3D (see below)
Sensors:
        Passive: 50/1D
        Scan: 100/3D
        Search: 200/4D
        Focus: 6/4D+2
Weapons:
4 Turbolaser Batteries (Fire Separately)
        Fire Arc: 2 Front, 1 Left, 1 Right
        Crew: 1 to 2
        Skill: Capital Ship Gunnery
        Scale: Capital
        Fire Control: 4D
        Space Range: 3-15 / 36 / 75
        Atmosphere Range: 6-15 / 72 / 150km
        Damage: 3D
14 Quad Laser Cannons (Fire Separately)
        Fire Arc: 4 Front, 4 Left, 4 Right, 2 Back
        Crew: 1 to 2
        Skill: Capital Ship Gunnery
        Scale: Starfighter
        Fire Control: 2D
        Space Range: 1-5 / 12 / 25
        Atmosphere Range: 100-500 / 1200 / 2500m
        Damage: 4D
4 Tractor Beamers (Fire Separately)
        Fire Arc: 2 Front, 1 Left, 1 Right
        Crew: 2
        Skill: Capital Ship Gunnery
        Scale: Capital
        Fire Control: 2D+2
        Space Range: 1-5 / 15 / 30
        Atmosphere Range: 100-500 / 1500 / 3000m
        Damage: 4D

Fighter Compliment:
The Hydra carries 24 Sienar TIE / D2 Automated Fighters

Special:
The Hydra possesses the ability to increase the Starfighter
Piloting or Starship Gunnery of its fighters by 1D for each 1
pip of manoeuvrability it sacrifices each turn.  Thus at most
it can sacrifice its 1D+2 manoeuvrability (5 pips) to increase
ONE ability of five droid starfighters.

The Hydra can also project its shields onto the Droid Starfighters.  
For each pip of shields it sacrifices it can project 1D of shields
onto a fighter.  Hence it's 3D of shields can provide 1D of
starfighter-scale shields to 9 Droid fighters (though the Hydra
itself will be unshielded).

These ability projections are NOT compatible and CANNOT be stacked.  
Thus a fighter can have shields projected onto it OR have its
Piloting increased OR have its Gunnery increased.  Each ability may
be projected or re-assigned each turn.

As a side effect of the control method the Droid starfighters must
remain within 100 SU of the mothership, beyond this range the Droid
starfighters are unpowered and dead in space.  

Also the abilities can only be projected onto Droid starfighters
within 50 SU of the Hydra.